Without A Trace
by awitchywoman
Summary: Erica's disappearance flips Pine Valley and the life of a handsome cardiologist upside down. Characters: Erica Kane, David Hayward, Vanessa Bennett, Bianca Montgomery, Leo DuPree, Brooke English, Jackson Montgomery, etc.
1. Introduction

**Author's Note:** Hello there! It has been an absurd amount of time since I've posted any All My Children fiction. I've mostly been focusing on other television shows over at Ao3. However, I found this the other day and felt inspired to revamp it and post it. This chapter is extremely short because I'm using it mostly as a test to see if there are any FF members still interested in David and Erica/All My Children fiction!

 **INTRODUCTION:**

Erica slumped down in her desk chair, thumbing through model portfolios. She threw her head back in frustration, none of the women were what she was looking for. She was looking for someone who was naturally beautiful, dark haired, dark eyes, and portrayed a 'girl next door' image similar to her own daughter, Bianca. She'd pleaded with Bianca to accept the position as one of Enchantment's ambassadors, but Bianca declined much to her mother's dismay.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a female figure stood in her doorway.

"Ms. Kane, is there anything else I can do for you before I head out?" Her receptionist, Lucy, asked. Erica shook her head.

"No, thank you, Lucy. I have a few more portfolios to look through and then I'll be leaving out myself. I have to drop off a few packages at the post office before heading home."

"I'll take these for you." The caramel color haired woman offered. Erica thanked her for being so helpful and Lucy collected the mail. At last, Erica was alone with her work.

She was in the middle of her fourth portfolio when the office chandelier flickered. The chandelier came back on but a lamp she had next to her desk went off. She stood up and walked towards the window, wondering if a storm was near. It was late and the sky was black but there was no rain. The roads weren't glistening from the streetlights and she hadn't heard any thunder. The air was eerily still. She shook her head in an attempt to shake the uneasy feeling from her body.

She returned to her desk where she had a clear view of the door. She noticed under the space between the bottom of the door and the floor that the power in the reception area was out as well. It was almost like someone was messing with the breakers. That was strange, she thought.

The power suddenly cut off all together. She sighed heavily, waiting for the generators to kick in, but after a few minutes the office remained pitch dark. This was her cue to go home. Now. Erica stood up, wrapping her dark, merlot pashmina around her shoulders.

She reached down to pull her keys out of her purse. That's when she thought she heard footsteps.

"Lucy?" She called out to see if the receptionist was still there. As she suspected, she was alone and her mind was obviously playing tricks on her. There was no work to be done without power and she felt strangely frightened alone in Enchantment. Erica had spent many late weeknights at Enchantment alone without an issue. She was used to putting in overtime during a launch or a campaign. Her office was her second home, and these days, it seemed like it was her home.

As she closed the door behind her, she saw a man's shadow.

"...Hello?" She called out. "Is someone still here?" She paused but the only response was heavy footsteps. Perhaps it was a maintenance worker who didn't hear her. She waited for the sound of keys but instead heard silence. "HELLO?" She said louder once more and the silhouetted man came closer. She turned around to seek refuge in her office, but fumbled with the doorknob that she'd complained to maintenance about. That's when she felt the hands snake around her waist. She panicked. The hands holding her body to his weren't familiar. The body holding her captive wasn't her husband's.

She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. It felt as though her vocal cords had been paralyzed by the fear she felt surging through her body. It wouldn't have done her any good anyway, no one else was around to hear her.

She did her best to scream, but no one else was around to hear her. She tried to fight him, to elbow the man in the ribs but he was too strong for her.

"You're feisty, aren't you?" He whispered in her ear. Erica sobbed loudly and was soon silenced by the chilled leather gloves that covered the hand currently wrapped around her face. She continued to struggle. She exhausted every option she could think of to fight back. She bit, she kicked, and she cried. The tears streamed down her face and over the leather, leaving streaks of wetness. The man didn't care. He watched her struggle with a smile hidden behind his mask. Finally, her unwillingness to give up made him frustrated. He took the stock of the handgun and knocked her unconscious.

 **-OoO-**

Erica groaned loudly and tipped her head to the side, wincing when she did so. She blinked a few times, waiting for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. She shivered lightly. Why was it so cold? Why did her head hurt so badly? She was utterly confused. The last image she remembered was a thick shade of black. She shivered once more when a cool breeze hit her skin. Was she outside? She saw blurry wooden crates. Was she in... a warehouse?

"Oh, you're coming to. What a shame. I was enjoying the peaceful quiet." Erica heard a familiar voice, when the blurriness of her vision cleared she saw Vanessa Bennett sitting in front of her. Vanessa was bouncing her leg up and down, a magazine in her hand to keep her occupied.

"What's going on? Why am I here? Why are you here? Where are we?" Erica interrogated.

"One question at a time, dear." Vanessa told her, discarding the magazine on the metal chair she'd previously been sitting in.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note** : The first few chapters of this fic will be flashback. All flashbacks are in italics. The scene the first portion of this fic is based on happened on Oct. 20, 2000. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any transcripts or videos from that time period so I pulled a few quotes from memory. The original scene happened post-break up, when David was trying to reconcile with Erica. Erica shows up at David's door after a fight with Bianca, David comforts her, but their reconciliation is interrupted by a phone call. I am not strictly following canon, for the most part, but I am trying to include some moments from the show to provide some context.

 ** _Two years earlier..._**

 _David rubbed the towel against his hair, soaking up any remaining water droplets. He was clad in a blue robe, his bare chest only slightly poking out of the top. He laid his pajamas out on the edge of his bed, intending to slip into them once he'd finished drying but before he was able to, he heard a knock on his hotel room door._

 _"Hey..." He said, surprised to find her on the other side._

 _"May I come in?" She asked and he nodded, moving away from the door._

 _"Is everything okay?"_

 _She shook her head. David noticed the frantic heaving of her chest when she spoke. He wanted to tell her to take a deep breath and gain control of her breathing but waited for her to elaborate._

 _"My whole world is crashing around me. David, I didn't know where else to go." She admitted meekly. "Hold me, please."_

 _He obliged, wrapping his arms around her. His body was still wet making the purple fabric of her dress a shade darker in some spots as he held her against his chest._

 _"What happened? Is it Bianca?" He had a sneaking suspicion that her teenage daughter was being rebellious._

 _She nodded once more. "She moved in with, Jackson."_

 _"Oh." He ran his hands through his hair. "Erica, I have no doubt that Bianca will be back. She's a teenager and, frankly, they tend to see everything rigidly. They're in a constant state of black and white. She'll come home soon."_

 _"When?"_

 _"Only Bianca can answer that question."_

 _A moment of silence passed when Erica spoke his name again._

 _Tearfully, she asked,"Why does everyone I love leave me?"_

 _"Oh, Erica." His stomach dropped at her question. This was a side to Erica that he rarely saw - that anyone rarely saw. She was raw and vulnerable, seeking solace and validation. He knew deep down that she covered up her insecurities by putting up a facade of a passionate, ambitious, powerful, independent, and secure woman. She was all of those things indeed. But she was more than that, too. She was far more complex._

 _"My father, my mother, Bianca, you..." She said, gesturing widely. "Every person I have ever loved leaves me. Or maybe it's me. Maybe push them away. How could I lose my own daughter?"_

 _He'd known how much love and devotion she felt for Bianca when she rushed her into his emergency room. She demanded to see a doctor and was less than satisfied when he announced that he was the doctor on call. Soon she became comfortable with him realizing that he had her daughter's best interest at heart. Perhaps that is why she came to him again tonight._

 _He reached out for her pulling her close to him again and hoping that his body would tell her more than his words ever could. She was needed, she was wanted, and she was most certainly loved by both him and Bianca. "You are an amazing mother, Erica. You wouldn't be so upset about Bianca moving out if you weren't. She's not gone for good. She loves you and she needs you. I can promise you that she'll come around. And, Erica, I haven't left you."_

 _She rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his cologne. There was a fire between them when their eyes met, a desperate need that they'd both been ignoring. David took her face in his hands, his lips trailed from her forehead to her cheek and down her jawline._

 _Her hands wandered down to the V of his robe. She felt his heart beating rapidly for her. She placed a soft kiss in the middle of his chest. He picked her up and placed her on the bed and she pulled him down with her. Their hands sought purchase wherever they could. Their fervent kissing was agonizingly slow. His intent was to make love to her._

 ** _-OoO-_**

 _She woke up the next morning entangled in long limbs and wrinkled beige sheets. The comforter was thrown on the floor next to the pile of their discarded clothing. She stretched her legs, convincing her body that it was time to wake up. She shouldn't even be here, she told herself. Why had she done this? What was it about David Hayward that made her feel vulnerable? Why had she always chosen to share her most intimate feelings with him? She shifted her legs so that they were dangling off of the side of the bed. She noticed that heart didn't ache as badly, but she still felt a void._

 _"Feeling better this morning?" David asked, his voice still hoarse from sleep._

 _She half-smiled over her shoulder at him. "A little. David, I shouldn't be here and I certainly shouldn't have spent the night. I'm sorry that I came here and -" She began but David cut her off._

 _The bed shifted and David moved so that he was sitting behind her. She felt his hands on her arms. "Erica, if you have a problem I am more than happy to help you. Forever."_

 _"David, what does this mean for us? You know that I don't do casual sex, but I wasn't thinking clearly last night..."_

 _"This means that you needed someone to listen to you, to make you feel better. Nothing more if you don't want it to. I am here for you as a friend, as a lover, hell, as a doctor. Whatever relationship you choose to have with me."_

 _"Thank you. I should... I should go now." She reached down to pick up her dress._

 _"You don't have to go. Why don't you stay for breakfast? We can talk more about Bianca, if you'd like."_

 _Reluctantly, she agreed to stay and for the first few moments they ate in an awkward silence._

 _"I have to say these are far better than the eggs I made you." David said._

 _"Yours were equally as wonderful." She complimented._

 _"This reminds me of old times, us eating breakfast in bed together after a long night." He reminisced, winking in her direction._

 _She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that long ago."_

 _"Why didn't you ever bring me breakfast in bed? You never even made toast!"_

 _She jabbed him in his right side with her elbow."I did bring you breakfast in bed, was it that unmemorable?"_

 _"Erica, I may be absent minded at times but I absolutely would've remembered if Erica Kane had made me breakfast." She opened her mouth to protest but he inserted a piece of french toast in her mouth. "Coral's breakfasts do not count."_

 _"Yes, but I put the toast on the plate and brought it to you on a tray! With flowers! It isn't my fault that Coral is protective over her kitchen. She refuses to let me touch the stove after the infamous Christmas cookies incident in 1998."_

 _"Ah, yes, the night you nearly burnt Pine Valley down."_

 _Her reply was interrupted by incessant beeping._

 _"Dammit." He cursed. "I'm being paged. I'm going to call the hospital."_

 _"I really should go. I need to figure out what how I'm going to deal with, Bianca." A nervous expression crossed her face._

 _"Go talk to her, Erica. She needs you more than ever." He replied, kissing her cheek._

 _"Thank you, David. For last night and this morning..."_

 _He smiled and gave her a nod._


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note:** I understand that the timeline of this might be confusing, but because these first few chapters are more for context than the actual story, I've decided to cut them short and not spend a ton of time on them (especially considering that most D&E fans have seen them).

It'll all make sense soon! The next chapter is when Erica and David's relationship truly changes. From Chapter Three on, the scenes will be more original and not based off of the show's canon. Thanks for reading! As usual, italics are flashbacks.

 **Chapter Two**

 _He decided that if he was going to use the drug on someone else, he needed to know how they'd react. The only way to find out was to try it on himself._

 _He lifted the beaker from the holder labeled, "Libidizone" and slowly poured it into his copper colored drink. He circled the glass in his hand, allowing the liquids to marry and become one before throwing his head back and consuming the entire drink._

 _He wasn't sure how but he ended up standing outside of her house, jiggling the doorknob at an attempt to enter. He finally managed to open the door and their eyes met. Instead of her being scared, she seemed to welcome his presence._

 _David pressed his lips against hers, but she didn't push him away. Instead she accepted the kiss fully and leaned backwards, allowing him to envelope more of her body into his._

 _"I'm sorry. I can't ignore my feelings for you." He admitted. Taking her lips again._

 _"I never meant for this to happen, it's just that you were so close. I want you, dammit. But not like this. Not in this way.""_

 _She stared at him blankly._

 _"I'm sorry." he repeated._

 _"Go." She told him weakly. "Don't ever touch me again."_

 _He put his hands up and backed away from her._

 _"Dixie, please tell me that you forgive me." He needed to hear her say the words. He needed her to know that he wasn't going to hurt her._

 _Dixie's expression turned into fear. The noise of a rumbling engine stalled. "That's Tad's car..."_

 _"Look, I didn't come here to ruin your marriage but please, please forgive me. No one will ever hear about this – you have my word."_

 _David left through the back door without another word. She should be angry at him – but for some reason, she wasn't. She fluffed her blonde curls, wiped away her tears, took a deep breath and went to the door to greet her husband._

 _-oOo-_

 _David watched Dixie wrap her arms around Tad's neck from afar. He wondered if Tad had any idea what happened thirty seconds before he came home. Dixie wouldn't tell him, surely. He wouldn't believe that she didn't reciprocate. Tad knew how Dixie felt about David._

 _He shouldn't be angry that she rejected him, but he was. He was tired of being rejected. He needed to convince Dixie that they were meant to be together, even if that meant hurting her and breaking up her marriage first. Despite what he told her, he knew that he was the best thing for Dixie and getting her away from Tad was the first step to happiness for both of them. He was doing her a favor._

 _David knew what he had to do and made a phone call as soon as he returned to his hotel room._

 _"Can I speak to Leslie Coulson, please?"_

 _Leslie Coulson. The voluptuous nurse that would never resist his advances. She'd do anything for him, he thought. She was entirely too obsessed with him for his liking. He preferred a woman who was strong willed. A woman who he had to chase a little. Perhaps that's why he fell for Erica and now Dixie. All he had to do to execute his plan was convince her to engage Tad in conversation at an upcoming press conference for Chandler Enterprises that he knew Tad would be in attendance of. He needed her to convince Tad that he was interested in her far more than he was interested in his bland, rather problematic wife. He told Leslie that he'd owe her tremendously and without much coaxing due to her severe obsession, she agreed, thinking that helping David would result in being closer to him. He laughed to himself._

 _-oOo-_

 _David discreetly pulled a silver vial out of his suit pocket, slipping it into a full wine glass. He watched Leslie and Tad like an animal watches his prey, waiting to unleash havoc on Tad's marriage. He'd given Leslie some topics to hold Tad's attention and it seemed to be going well. She managed to pull Tad over to a separate table away from everyone else. Occasionally, she'd catch his eye and he'd wink at her as a silent nod of approval. She'd turn back to Tad and continue the conversation._

 _If Dixie wouldn't admit her feelings because of her commitment to, Tad, then he would have to force Tad out of the picture. He knew that Tad's reputation of being a playboy was waiting to bubble up once again. All he needed was a little help and David, ever so generous, decided that he should be charitable this year and give back to his community._

 _He looked over to find, Erica at a table by herself. Taking the drink with him, not wanting to let it out of his sight, he went over to her._

 _It had been nearly a month after their last night together and they hadn't seen each other since. Erica was too wrapped up in trying to get Bianca to trust her again that she'd nearly forgotten that that night ever happened._

 _"Hey there."_

 _She looked up to find, David, standing in front of her._

 _"Why don't you join me?" She offered and he sat down. He would look far less suspicious if he was there with her._

 _"Have you been able to talk to, Bianca since... the other night?" He asked, looking at the menu._

 _Erica smiled at his thoughtfulness._

 _"Bianca is avoiding me far less. I'd say that she's coming around!" She said happily._

 _"That's wonderful!" He exclaimed, genuinely happy for her. "What happened?"_

 _"Oddly enough, an interesting conversation with Greenlee Smythe made me aware. I figured if, Greenlee could see it then there was obviously something amiss." David laughed._

 _"I never thought that you'd use the adjective interesting next to Greenlee's name, but carry on."_

 _"She told me that Bianca was unhappy, you know, with her title as Miss. Enchantment. I thought about it and realized that I gave Bianca that title, not because she wanted it, but because I wanted her to have it. It made her miserable. I suppose that I assumed that she'd want to follow in my footsteps but she made it clear that she wasn't interested."_

 _David seemed surprised at her self-reflection._

 _"She also told me more about, Rain, Bianca's friend. You remember her? They're so close – it's like they're obsessed with each other. They are incapable of spending any time apart these days." Bianca's new friend piqued Erica's suspicions much more than any of her previous friends. Her mother's intuition told her that something was extremely wrong about that girl and that Bianca was too naive to notice._

 _"Erica, to be fair, I don't think most parents are particularly fond of their teenager's friends."_

 _Erica sighed. "It's not just that, David. She's unhealthy for, Bianca. She's involved in something – maybe drugs – I don't know but I'm determined to find out before she takes my Bianca down with her."_

 _"Erica, do you really think that Bianca would entertain a friendship with someone who was an addict? Give her a little more credit than that, she's a smart girl."_

 _"David, I don't know Bianca anymore. I don't know what she's doing or who she's doing it with. Drugs is plausible."_

 _"Okay, let's think about this rationally. Has she shown any signs of being on drugs?"_

 _Erica shook her head, "Well, no, but -"_

 _"Then she likely isn't."_

 _"When you become a parent, you'll understand the constant paranoia. You will lose all rational and assume that no one is good enough for your child."_

 _He looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sure I will, but you're stressing yourself out over nothing. Let's try to relax, have a nice meal, and see where the evening takes us, alright?"_

 _Erica nodded. "I think I need to eat, I'm starting to get a horrendous headache."_

 _"That's stress, Erica."_

 _As if on cue, the waiter came to the table to take their order._

 _He half listened as Erica went on, waiting for the perfect time to switch Tad's glass with the one in his hand._

 _-oOo-_

 _"My headache has turned into a migraine." Erica whined, tilted her head back and putting her hand on her forehead trying to ease the pain. She began searching for aspirin in her purse._

 _"Thank you." She said to the waiter as she downed the entire glass of Libidizone ridden wine. He looked at her in disbelief._

 _"Erica!" David yelled, trying to stop her._

 _"What?" She winced and looked at him, annoyed at the volume of his voice._

 _"Well, it's just that drink wasn't meant for you."_

 _She looked at him strangely. "David, we've shared more than a glass before."_

 _"No, it's just that... uh... if you already have a headache alcohol will make it worse tomorrow morning. Your headache could be caused by dehydration and wine isn't going to help that. Perhaps you should have some water."_

 _"I don't want water." She said, pouting. "I want to go to bed."_

 _"Why don't you let me drive you home?" He asked, feeling protective over her._

 _Her eyes changed. The beautiful shade of brown became even darker with lust and she leaned in close to him._

 _"No, I mean I want to go to bed – with... you..." She told him, looking around the room. Before David could reply, the piano started playing an Ella Fitzgerald tune called, "It's Alright With Me."_

 _"Oh, I love this song!" She stood up and walked over to the piano, whispering in the man's ear._

 _"Everyone, we have a special treat tonight. Please welcome, Miss. Erica Kane." The pianist announced._

 _The surprise room applauded. David started coming up with an exit plan for the both of them in his head._

 _She began singing to and flirting with every man in the room as David looked on. She held on to Jackson Mongtomery's tie and wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly sat on Dimitri Marrick's lap, and practically made out with a random man that David had never seen before before forcefully pushing him across the room. He was amused and strangely turned on by the image of her sprawled across a piano in a deliciously tight red ensemble. The dress slid up just enough to reveal the delicate skin of her gorgeous thighs. Her confidence soared as she belted out each note._

 _"Fuck." David blew out in both frustration and anxiety. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but this was not what he wanted. He'd wanted Tad to be the victim of Libidizone, not Erica._

 _Suddenly, she felt like her body was on fire._

 _The song ended and a confused audience applauded her again._

 _David decided that he needed to remove her from a public situation before she ended up on the cover of a gossip magazine. Knowing how incredibly turned on she must've felt, he knew exactly how to get her out of there._

 _"Come here," He growled, pulling her close to him. "We're leaving. Now."_

 _"Jealous?"_

 _"Yes, watching you with another man is making me crazy."_

 _He barely managed to get her out of the elevator before she started tearing off his clothing. He walked into his room, shirt untucked and lipstick smeared all over his lips._

 _When he closed the door, she spun around and pushed him against it. He'd known her to be a confident lover, but never an aggressive and commanding lover. He found himself unable to keep his hands off of her._

 _"David, David, if you don't make love to me right now I'm going to scream!" She demanded. David obliged._

 _"No, you don't have to scream. We'll do whatever you want." The moral dilemma weighed heavily on him. He knew that she was intoxicated, but this drug only stripped people of their inhibitions. It never made someone do something that they didn't want to do, instead it allowed them to do what they were afraid to do because of consequences and relationships. He thought about turning her away but she was begging for him to touch her, kiss her, taste her. He found himself unable to resist her, always. He ran his hand down her arm and discreetly checked her pulse. It was racing, but she seemed fine otherwise._

 _He lifted her up and threw her down on the bed. They continued to tear at each other's clothing before David gained some sense again. He reached into his night stand for the condom he knew he'd tossed in there but she grabbed his hands._

 _"Don't stop touching me." She breathed._

 _He smiled and captured her lips. "Baby, it's only for a second."_

 _She knew from the previous night that he kept his condoms there but she didn't have time to wait._

 _"No need." She dropped it to the floor."_


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's Note:** Taking a shot every time the word 'sex' is mentioned may result in alcohol poisoning. I am not responsible for any hospitalizations. This chapter is fairly short but the chapters will be picking up soon! We're still in the 'canon' stage but we won't be much longer. :) Thanks for bearing with me while I do a little context writing!

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 _David's vision was still blurry, he rubbed his eyes to rid them of the lingering remnants of sleep. He looked down to find Erica sprawled out, her hand resting limply on his chest. Discreetly, he gently caressed her forearm and stopped at her wrist – checking her pulse for abnormalities. He counted silently searching for anything suspicious in each beat. Satisfied when he came to the conclusion that Erica was fine, he interlaced his hand with her own. He knew that she wouldn't allow him to do this much longer and he wanted to soak up every moment with her that he could. He stared at her left hand for a moment, remembering that there was once a beautiful diamond ring placed on her finger. There should be a wedding band accompanying it by now. His heart ached a little at the thought. They should be lying together in bed because they were celebrating their marriage, not because of drug induced sex._

 _He subconsciously ran his fingers through her hair as he used to do. It relaxed her tremendously and usually lulled her to sleep within seconds. She stirred only slightly at the sensation but went back to sleep once again._

 _David stared at the ceiling, his thoughts bouncing back and forth in his brain. He never intentionally drugged her – he would never do that to her. He loved her entirely too much to use her as a test specimen and he certainly wouldn't have drugged her to forcefully have sex with him. Still, he felt as though he took advantage of her despite her insistence. He told himself that if she had stopped him at any point during the night, he would've obliged – they both knew that. It was a promise that he'd made to her when he introduced her to other types of sex. David wasn't interested in having any physical contact with dubious consent with anyone. He wanted explicit consent and Erica gave him that, multiple times throughout the night. He wondered how she'd feel about it this morning. Would she question him? Would she remember anything? Why did it have to happen like this? This was not the reunion that he wanted but he wasn't capable of resisting her either. He should have stopped them. He should've given her water and talked her through what she was feeling – even if it meant that the entire hotel would've heard her screaming at him to make love to her._

 _He felt strangely uncomfortable, wondering if Erica would've had sex with him without the influence of Libidizone had the circumstances aligned. He shook his head reminding himself that Libidizone was nothing more than an enhancement drug: it stripped people of their inhibitions and allowed them to do what – or who – they were too scared to. He'd taken a much smaller dose than was intended for Tad, but he remembered every detail of practically harassing, Dixie. Maybe forgetting would be best. He looked down at her once more, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. He wanted to slow down time and make this moment last forever. If she only knew how difficult it would be for him to let her walk out of his hotel door one final time. Something within him told him that this would be the last time she would be in his bed – in his arms. Instead, he would have to pursue someone else, a lousy attempt at a replacement, Dixie. Someone that would cause the same fight and chase reaction that Erica had. Someone that would never be able to touch the parts of him that Erica could. Someone who was such a stark contrast to Erica that he could handle being in the same room with her without thinking about Erica. Someone who looked different, smelled different, acted differently. It was the only way he could move on, he convinced himself._

 _David was torn from his thoughts when Erica coughed lightly and turned her head so that her chin was resting on his chest._

" _Are you feeling okay?" He blurted out before she even opened her eyes._

" _My head is spinning..." She hoarsely admitted. "I feel awful."_

 _Her face twisted into confusion and she swung her legs over to get out of the bed. She desperately needed to get away from him, afraid of what she would do next. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask her what 'awful' meant but she cut him off._

" _I can't believe I did this -" She wrapped his pale blue button up shirt around her. "Why, why do I keep coming back to you? I know that you're the worst thing for me but there's some force that seems to pull me to you, David._

 _She was grasping at the little self-control she had left and knew that she had to remove herself from his hotel room – from HIM. She was beginning to lose all of her self control and she hated it. The times that she felt out of control ended up being the most frightening experiences of her life, yet she didn't feel frightened this time. She knew she was safe with David._

" _Erica, you can't deny that there is a connection between us. You're an incredible force yourself."_

 _She held her hand up. "No, David, no. I feel like I've been drugged."_

 _David's stomach dropped and his anxiety rose. Did she remember what happened last night before the sex? Was she blaming herself? He followed her around the room as she paced, kicking the unopened foil packet under the bed in the process._

" _You... you think that we made love because you were drugged?" He interrogated._

 _She dropped the button down and picked up her dress off of the floor. Stepping into it gracefully._

" _I don't know, David, no. I just... I don't feel like myself."_

" _You certainly felt like yourself to me."_

 _She shook her head and continued zippering her dress before reaching for her coat, her body feeling that familiar fire again. She could reach out and touch him at any moment, push him down against the mattress for the fourth time in 24 hours. She needed to leave. Soon._

" _This part has always been good for us, Erica."_

 _She glanced over at his chest, which was conveniently showing through the top of his robe._

" _It has to be more than sex that draws us together, David. You know that I don't do casual sex, there has to be more." The panic in her voice scared him for a moment. She fumbled with the tie on her coat. She needed to leave. She was too close to touching him._

" _I have a daughter, a company, an entire career and things that... MATTER to me. What is happening?"_

 _David attempted to take her into his arms to comfort her, but she pushed him away so he opted to hold on to her arms, convincing her to sit down. He promised not to touch her._

" _No, I will touch you."_

" _Erica, look, I'm sorry honey. I never meant for ANY of this to happen." He apologized, it was his way of admitting that he had something to do with the overwhelming attraction that she'd felt for him the previous night._

 _"You're a magnet to me. I need to leave now." She turned and headed out the door, leaving David to process what happened._

 _Soon after Erica left, Vanessa appeared._

 **-oOo-**

 _She always felt her best thinking was done in the car, which was probably why on the drive home she couldn't stop her racing thoughts. Why was she so attracted to, David? She'd always been able to control herself around him before. It was like something came over her and she had an out-of-body experience. It felt so wrong, but so right. He felt familiar and warm. He felt like home to her. She didn't understand why her feelings for him were so strong but she knew that she'd always had them – even if they'd been buried deep down inside of her waiting to burst out at any moment. He'd been so patient and kind to her last night. He let her control the pace and decide what she was comfortable with, knowing that a reintroduction to sex with him had not been in her itinerary when she showed up at the Inn._

 _She sighed. She couldn't ignore that last night happened and she knew that David wouldn't be able to either. Bianca should be her priority, and David would understand that surely. That would be her 'out' of any further commitments. She began to wonder why she needed an out. Why was the thought of a relationship with David so frightening to her? When they broke up, she'd convinced herself that it was due to conflicting schedules. It was a mutual decision and there were no hard feelings. It was so different to any of her former relationships which ended in cheating, backstabbing, and the loss of custody of her child. She expected a more dramatic ending and the fact that there was no dramatic ending scared her. She'd made a habit out of it, really. In her mind, David doing something horrible to her would be easier to deal with than a mutual decision to call off their engagement. Myrtle, Jackson, Opal, and even Brooke had told her how awful David was for her. He was a dangerous man who absolutely was not marriage material. They all turned up their noses and judged her aloud when she announced her engagement to, David. She wondered if the constant pressure from everyone around her helped push them to a break up. Why, in her post-breakup analysis, couldn't she find a thing he did wrong to her?_

 _She pulled into her driveway and took the keys out of the ignition. She sat there for a moment before plucking up the courage to meet, Bianca inside. She laughed to herself, thinking that Bianca had become the parent in this scenario. She prepared to be scolded about spending the night somewhere else without calling._

 _In a rare occurrence, Erica closed the door behind her slowly, not wanting to draw attention to her appearance._

 _Unfortunately for her, she walked directly into a conversation with Leo and Laura._

 _Floods of her previous night's rendezvous came to her. Suddenly, she cringed at the memory of telling Leo to go away and how she loudly complimented David's bedroom skills. She prayed that he didn't remember but the awkward look on his face told her that he most certainly did remember._

" _Leo," Erica smiled trying to gather herself. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" She asked, pulling him aside._

" _Um... I'd prefer if you kept what you heard between us. It would traumatize Bianca if she... knew what you heard."_

" _Of course," Leo promised, putting his hand up._

 _Bianca appeared from the kitchen._

" _We were all outside of David's room. I heard it all."_

" _...What you heard was... A joke, Bianca!" She told her, mustering up her most convincing voice._

 _Bianca laughed at her mother's pathetic lie. "Mom, it's fine. You're a single woman who is entitled to live her own life. It's a free country."_

 _Erica blinked. "What do you think she meant by that?" She asked, Leo and Laura._

 _Laura shrugged._

" _Exactly what she said. Troops died for your right to have extremely loud sex with my brother."_

 _Erica shook her head at Leo's bluntness. "Ugh, I need a bath... to drown myself in."_

" _Have fun!" Leo said, pulling Laura off of the couch to go with him to catch up with Bianca._

" _Why do sweet, innocent children have to become teenagers?" Erica asked herself as she climbed up the stairs._


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** In the next chapter we will revisit the Dixie situation.

 **Chapter 4**

 ** _You have been cordially invited to attend the Incredible Dreams black tie yacht party supporting The Pine Valley Hospital Teenage Pregnancy Program hosted by Ryan Lavery of on Saturday, November 18th in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania at 8 o'clock in the evening._**

 _The invitation read._

 _David was mindlessly flipping through it when Erica knocked on his door._

 _She seemed a little more frantic and meek than usual._

 _"Erica!" He greeted her with a smile but she didn't smile back._

 _"How are you feeling today?" He asked._

 _She took a deep breath. "That's actually why I came here. I slept until noon and have had a blinding headache. I was wondering if you could fill in some missing pieces for me?"_

 _David nodded and invited her to sit down._

 _"A nurse stopped me in the hallway to tell me that she enjoyed my performance at the Valley Inn last night. I woke up this morning thinking that singing on the piano in the Inn was a bad dream. I need to know - for certain - what happened afterwards last night?"_

 _"You sincerely don't remember? You were insatiable."_

 _She held up her hands indicating for him to cease his recollection of those details._

 _"I remember that, David. I don't remember how we got there... What came over me? It must not EVER happen again!" She told him firmly._

 _David frowned. He'd anticipated this reaction from her and he knew that they weren't in a particularly good place when they'd made love but hearing it was still painful. There was so much between himself and Erica – both spoken and unspoken. He never wanted it to end and hearing her put a definite end on their relationship, insisting that all doors have been closed hurt. He didn't want to believe it completely._

 _"You told me last night that you were addicted to me." He reminded her._

 _She stood up and wavered slightly._

 _"Erica, please sit back down."_

 _"I am shaking." She held up her hands to show the trembling._

 _"I feel like I'm going through withdraws again. Maybe I am addicted to you, David. No person should feel this deeply about another person. It's unhealthy."_

 _"You can't deny me, Erica, I am in your system. This is proof that we are good together."_

 _She swept a hair out of her face and shook her head vehemently._

 _"No. I felt like I had no control. I was a slave to my impulses and I couldn't keep my hands off of you. That is not normal. That is not GOOD."_

 _"Listen, go home and rest. Get get ready for Ryan's yacht party."_

 _"No. I don't want your instructions. I want you to keep your distance, David. Stay far away from me. There will be no repeat performance and I don't want to see you again. Do I make myself clear?"_

 _She waited for an answer and when he opened his mouth to protest she stood up._

 _"I am serious. I don't want to see you."_

 _He followed Erica out into the doorway but allowed her to walk away. He knew that chasing after Erica wasn't going to help the situation. When Erica felt trapped she ran and she pushed people away._

 _He saw a familiar face walking down the hallway._

 _"Leslie," David exclaimed, catching her by her arm and pulling her into his office. "Would you like to go out on a yacht with me next weekend?"_

 _"Mmm, that sounds wonderful. What will this date cost me?" She questioned and he smirked._

 _"All I need you to do is execute the Valley Inn plan. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful because of Erica's interference. If you can help me again I'd be eternally grateful."_

 _"Remind me why I'm doing this again? What do you have against, Tad?"_

 _"You're doing this because you care about me. As for Tad, well, I'll explain that another time."_

 _Leslie took some coaxing but finally agreed._

 **~oOo~**

 _One day, she innocently walked into their shared office and over to his desk to retrieve a file from a case they were collaborating on when she found the evidence. She saw him from across the yacht with a silver flask and she had an idea that it was more than alcohol._

 _"Dammit," Alex Devane, fellow doctor and enemy of David Hayward's, mumbled to herself. She knew he hadn't given up researching Libidizone but she thought that she could trust him to keep the research to himself._

 _"What the hell are you doing? Spiking the punch?" She inquired, attempting to remove the flask from his hand but he pulled away._

 _He looked at her perplexed. "I was freshening up my drink, Alex."_

 _"I know what's in that vial, David. It's not alcohol and you would think nothing, nothing at all, of dumping that vial into someone's drink, David."_

 _"Are you having flashbacks again, Alex? Preparing to push someone down the stairs? Perhaps you're the one planning to poison the yacht? Your mental instability is showing again."_

 _Alex blinked twice at his ability to twist things around on her. She didn't appreciate his gas-lighting._

 _"You're caught."_

 _"You caught me slipping Scotch into my own drink, Alex._

 _"Fine. Let's go to the board, together. I'd like to speak to them myself. Tell me, Alex. Who is your psychiatrist? What medications are you on?"_

 _"I'm watching you." She told him, turning on her heel and walking away._

 _David breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Alex was off of his case for at least long enough for his plan to come to fruition._

 _He poured a glass of punch, intent on putting the perfect amount of Libidizone when a waitress bumped into him and knocked the entire vial into the punch._

 _"Fuck." He blew out in a panic, desperately trying to catch the remaining liquid before it all emptied into the bowl. When he did so, the liquid came out faster and he was unable to save any of it._

 _He cleaned off the vial and stuck it back into his pocket. He watched as Ryan handed out glasses of punch to everyone and began his speech. He kept an eye on Tad and Dixie, noticing how Tad was enjoying the punch. He glanced over to find Matteo and Hayley essentially ripping each other's clothing off in the middle of the party. He cringed when he saw Vanessa and Palmer who were unable to keep their hands off of each other._

 _"Thank you all for supporting The Pine Valley Hospital Teen Pregnancy Program." Ryan ended his toast by holding up a glass of punch. Everyone followed suit, consuming the punch collectively._

 _"Bottoms up, Pine Valley..." He chuckled to himself both out of nervousness and realizing how brilliant this kind of revenge could be._

 _"Now is your cue." He commanded Leslie._

 **~oOo~**

 _Erica turned around to find herself practically face to face with Jackson._

 _"What?"_

 _"What?" He asked back._

 _"You're staring at me."_

 _"Yes, I am." He replied plainly._

 _Erica's face twisted in confusion. "Jack, are you alright?"_

 _He smiled. "I am fine. I am having all of these... feelings suddenly."_

 _"Care to elaborate?"_

 _"I was thinking... about you and me making love."_

 _"I really think that you've overdone the champagne, Jack."_

 _David observed the room. The residents of Pine Valley were drinking, dancing, kissing, and potentially doing more than that in various hidden rooms._

 _Leslie pulled Tad into a room, pushing him up against the door and capturing his lips as David headed off in Dixie's direction._

 _Meanwhile, Erica felt someone wrap their arms around her, placing a kiss on her neck. She smiled politely and pushed him away. He began to rub a pink flower on her skin, traveling across her chest. She snatched the flower from his hand. "You're making me incredibly nervous, Jack..."_

 _"Good."_

 _"I've never seen you like this. What is going on?" He grabbed her hand and led her outside on the deck._

 _"I've never stopped loving you, Erica."_

 _"Well, I love you too Jack. You're a very dear friend."_

 _"A friend? Erica, I want to be more than your friend."_

 _Jackson pushed her against the wall of the boat and slid her pale pink strap over her shoulder a little too roughly. The strap snapped._

 _"What are you doing? Stop it!"_

 _Jack backed away, suddenly feeling very sober. "Erica, I am SO sorry. I didn't mean to... I thought you wanted this. Did I hurt you?"_

 _She shook her head. "No."_

 _"Are you okay?"_

 _She nodded._

 _"You're sure?"_

 _"I'm fine, Jack, really. I'm going to go find, Bianca."_

 _Erica looked down at her tattered dress straps, left to wonder what the hell was happening. She'd never seen Jackson act in such an uncontrolled manner. It was almost like he was experiencing what she felt with, David, the during their night at the Inn. She looked around at everyone – something seemed very strange about everyone's behavior._


End file.
